senator dick durbin was on abc and suggested that. the minute you push for specifics, raising the retirement age on medicare, he starts to flounder. i don't know we're moving towards any kind of deal yet. on politics, simplicity sells. a tax pledge is very simple. it communicates with your voters directly. here's the deal. republicans want low taxes for two reasons. they believe it's better for economic growth. we lost the election. we're going to lose that battle. also because they believe it will force spending restraints. i'm not sure that's true. voters need to feel the consequences of your decisions. if you choose higher spending you might just have to pay for it with higher taxes. sooner or later that burden might have to be the spending restraints. >> i think voters are already feeling the consequences, though, aren't they, jason? >> yeah. voters are already feeling the consequences. i also think the voters said something in 2012. look, we are tired of rigidity in washington. tired of people holding on to 20 year pledges. like